Seeking a better path forward for the planet

About the blog

The other day the last Western black rhino died. They are now extinct; never will another human get to see one. This news was sobering to me. I have been exploring ideas for living sustainably on the planet for some time, and this event just seemed to underscore the importance of figuring out a workable path forward. So I’m starting a blog about the human predicament on the planet, and about how we might achieve a transition to something better. I’m not a web expert, but I’ll figure it out.

My public pledge as I begin—this is a non-profit endeavor. I won’t be posting links for discounted this-or-that on my pages, getting kick-backs for recommending products, striving for readership numbers or acclaim, or hawking my services on the side. I am working on an e-book on the topic of sustainability, and should that come to fruition, I will make the same pledge regarding its potential success. Humankind faces a titanic struggle ahead; a job way too large for any individual. We all must do our part, and if my work is of value in this endeavor, it can be my contribution.

tb

12 May 2013

I support the BLOG WITH INTEGRITY pledge, which states in part:

…I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.

I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.

I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.

When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.

2 thoughts on “About the blog”

Hello, A lot to say. To begin, I am just as much of a Hippocratic as the next guy. Greed. I want a financially and emotionally satisfying life as any American. Yes American. Sustainability is the new “organic” in reference to a buzz word. Its not attainable in this modern world. Environmental sustainability may be possible in a dream. I am not a pessimist, angry, or a downer. Just so fed up with people throwing the word around. Just because someone eats well, rides a bike to work, owns an electric or hybrid car does not ……..blahhh……blah…. make there life sustainable. Yes there are degrees to be earned in sustainability, yes its a huge topic that is positive and able to change the world in great proportions. But not for the entire planet. Remember the American point? If your privileged enough to be from what used to be American “middle class” or above, than yes, you might think that you are contributing to a “sustainable life” and planet. Your most likely from White ,righteous New England. You don’t know any better and that’s not your fault. Your a product of your environment. . But generally speaking ….we are in the fog, as Americans when viewing our personal choices, and what WE think is good or bad for the environment. Perspective is a point in which we need to look at. Is your fridge full of healthy, organic food that is free range? No pesticides? blah..blah? How about the division between the rich and poor? How do we include poor people into your equation of sustainability? Its called greed, until the distributions are more equitable we will never achieve this utopia. I’m not trying to poop on your rainbow of having a non profit blog about sustainability, its very good” sustainable” conversation for prius driving, kale eating, yoga practicing Vermont implants that come here with grandiose ideas of how to make themselves feel good (and tell others how to live like them. i.e. sugar tax!) about there ideas and or positions in society. P.s I love kale, practice yoga, and support renewable energy, electric cars etc..(.I just don’t post it, stick it on my car or legislate for it in our state government..) Its a way of writing that gives the reader some humor on who is “saving us all” with there personal suggestions on how to live and what to eat, and how to be “sustainable” We have a joke up here in rural Vermont….. ‘Yeah…me and my wife want to be sustainable…AAh yeah ? How? We a have a garden, we have a hybrid, just leased some solar panels from sun common..blah blah you get the point Then the listener asks.. What do you do for work? Usually if not always there is a financial or “sustainable check” that comes in every month in the form of dividends or trusts. The sustainable part is that it comes every month! Nothing to worry about. Point is there are a lot of under privileged people on this planet, food and shelter are there concerns every day… About 40% of Vermont’s population is below poverty. (most people lie in the surveys, out of vanity and fear of being viewed that way) poor people are not going to ever afford a new “green” house, electric car, organic food, yoga classes, or hand spun organic cotton socks from a trusty run business in Hinesburg, Vt that is….Stop the corporate greed, redistribute the wealth back to the American people, Stop outrageous lawsuits , blah, blah. Until that happens, poor people will never contribute to a sustainable life the way righteous people lay it out. I know some great older people that have been as sustainable as” greedy america” can allow them to be….They have been growing there own food (not buying at co-op), canning and hunting or raising meats, AND eating kale from there garden for three generations ( we remember when it was a garnish), make there own bread because its better and cheaper, not because its cool, and work on there cars and keep them going, buying used ones etc.. (less carbon footprint than buying new, embodied energy facts) Build there own houses and do ALL the repairs in there lives. So much to talk about….Building sustainability is going back to what life was before technology, Everybody in the world cant have a cell phone, laptop and a house full of plastic consumer goods and not damage the planet. Scientific proven fact. Have you ever been to a construction site here in green Vermont? Check out the “sustainable community up on spear street..?” You’ll see 30 yard dumpsters filled with construction waste . 2,500 square foot mcmansions.. Yeah the Realtor and developer both drive priases, they eat kale, have solar panels, but also want to make 100,000 a year or more on developing an old farm field. Hippocracy at its finest. They should have started a non profit vegetable farm with veggy oil tractors, and all the produce stays local at a reduced rate for everybody to buy, not just the elitists. I’m hopeful that you at least caught the humor on a lighter side with this blog, realize i accept all people, and see the world half full. But until these few people, that think they are sustainable, address the real problems with our country, then world…….Sustainable is not going to mean anything but a check coming every month. Privileged people have the time to protest, vote at mid day decisive meetings (when poor america is working) practice yoga, share elitist photos and quotes on facebook etc… Isn’t a blog to get perspective from the community? To share good and bad viewpoints for all to reflect upon? I’m hopeful the sustainability majors at UVM will get good jobs and get “RICH”. Please respond and fill me in on my inaccuracies.